


Punching is Touching

by copperbadge



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-23
Updated: 2007-04-23
Packaged: 2017-12-13 20:51:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/828738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperbadge/pseuds/copperbadge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a word for a person who was at once Me and Not Me. For those rare times when you had to talk to yourself. Eillul.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Punching is Touching

He went back, just once. The Doctor always knows what he's doing.

The reaction was predictable. The other Doctor -- him -- the Ninth iteration -- passed the mouth of the alley and then stopped. He came back. He stood there in the light and stared at him, openly stared, stopped and stared. Rose kept going (she always did).

"A Time Lord," Nine breathed. "A real living -- "

He came forward to hug him, and the Doctor ached; he knows the loneliness, because it's his loneliness too.

"Don't touch me," he said, from the shade, and Nine stopped in his tracks. Dark shame and horror seemed to wrap around him, an almost visible thing.

"You know, then. You know what happened at Arcadia," he said. 

The Doctor shook his head. "That isn't why."

Realisation dawned. Not two Time Lords; just one, in two places at once.

"You utter fucking lunatic!" Nine said, but he used their own tongue -- a tongue where there was a word for a person who was at once Me and Not Me. A special pronoun for those rare times when you had to talk to yourself. _Eillul._

Nine moved forward, arm drawing back, anger clouding his face. 

"Punching is touching!" the Doctor cried, lurching backwards. "Punching is touching punching is touching!"

Nine paused. Then he laughed.

"Oh, if I could see the look on my face right now," Nine said, doubling over laughing. "Look at that chin!"

"Look at my ears," the Doctor retorted. "I'm not a picture of grace and good looks myself."

Nine was still laughing, one hand on the brickwork of the alley to hold himself up. The Doctor wanted to touch him, wanted to shake him out of his laughter. Nine recovered slowly, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Why've I come then? World ending? Eldrich message from beyond?" Nine asked.

"Something like that," the Doctor answered nonchalantly. Nine sobered.

"What is it? Worth risking the reapers for?"

The Doctor jerked his head in the direction Rose had gone.

"Nothing too important. It's about her. Just appreciate her while she stays."

Nine blinked. "Rose? But she promised -- "

"Just -- appreciate her while she stays." He paused. "And buy her some chips. She likes chips."

Nine nodded.

"DOCTOR!" Rose called, from a distance. "WHERE'D YOU GO?"

"G'on then," the Doctor said. "Time's wasting. Off with me."

Nine nodded and stepped out of the alley; his face changed imperceptibly, preparing to turn and say hello to Rose with some facile lie about chasing a cat down an alley.

The Doctor stepped back, into the TARDIS, and closed the door.

"Done with your errand?" Martha asked, looking up from the console.

"Done now," the Doctor agreed.


End file.
